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Tag: Jenkinsville Town Council

  • All Ridgeway, Jenkinsville candidates win seats

    • Ginyard
    • Prioleau
    • Belton

    JENKINSVILLE/RIDGEWAY – There were no surprises in the Jenkinsville and Ridgeway town council elections on Tuesday. Everyone who ran for a seat – and one who didn’t –  were all elected.

    Mayor Gregrey Ginyard was re-elected to his post for another four years and his wife, Betty will now be by his side at the dias. She was elected to fill one of two empty seats on council. Each received 10 votes – only 10 voters cast ballots.

    Joseph McBride, who did not file for re-election to his current seat on council, won via write-in votes. Nine of the voters wrote McBride’s name on the ballot.

    There are 54 registered voters in Jenkinsville.

    Ridgeway voters returned Councilman Donald Prioleau for a sixth term on council. Prioleau took 43 votes.

    Former Councilwoman Belva Bush Belton returned to council after a six-year absence with 44 votes.

    Neither Prioleau nor Belton were opposed.

    There was one write-in vote for a Ridgeway citizen.

    Of the 237 registered voters in Ridgeway, only 44 voted in the low turnout.

  • Election commission blocks JV annexation protest

    JENKINSVILLE – Fairfield County election officials upheld the result of the Jenkinsville annexation vote by a more decisive margin than the original referendum itself.

    In a unanimous vote Monday, the Fairfield County Election Commission voted to uphold the results of the June 5 special election that saw the annexation measure fail 19-15.

    Commissioners agreed one vote shouldn’t have been counted, but it wasn’t enough to sway the final result.

    Their decision to uphold the election was largely influenced by a miscommunication regarding a property owner who opted out, according to testimony. His property bordered other contiguous properties, which could have swayed the vote, town attorneys argued.

    Commissioners disagreed.

    One official noted a letter from the property owner was sent to the town’s lawyer, and not the Jenkinsville town clerk.

    “The letter should’ve been sent to the town clerk, and it was not sent to the town clerk,” election commissioner Alice Rice said. “It was sent to the lawyer instead.”

    Betty Trapp, chairwoman of the election commission, said a written order of the board’s findings would be issued as soon as possible.

    Trapp said the town could file an appeal in accordance with state law.

    Section 7-17-60 says appeals must be filed no later than noon Monday following the date of the county board’s decision, pegging the deadline as June 25.

    Had the annexation vote passed and been subsequently adopted by Jenkinsville Town Council, the town would have added 143 properties to its tax rolls, quadrupling the town’s geographical boundaries, according to Fairfield County property records.

    Two witnesses were called during Monday’s protest hearing: Jenkinsville Mayor Gregrey Ginyard and Debby Stidham, director of voter registration and election for Fairfield County.

    Jenkinsville’s protest cited three main arguments:

    The list of eligible voters provided to the polling location included voters outside of the proposed annexation area.

    A blind woman’s vote was incorrectly counted.

    One property owner exercised his right to opt out, which broke continuity with several other properties.

    “At minimum, the above irregularities make the actual outcome of the election uncertain and require a new election,” the protest states.

    Jeff Goodwyn, a Columbia attorney representing Jenkinsville, focused primarily on the contiguity issue in his opening statement.

    Goodwyn said if the property owner who opted out was excluded, it would’ve dramatically impacted the outcome because other properties would have been excluded as well.

    “Without this property, the part of the annexation, it breaks the contiguous nature in the city,” he said. “Their votes were meaningless because they couldn’t possibly be in the town.”

    Ginyard affirmed that position during testimony at Monday’s hearing.

    “There were quite a few votes that shouldn’t have been counted,” he said. “With the vote count being 19-15, with there being eight to 10 votes in that area, that could’ve swung the election either way.”

    Ginyard also testified that a blind woman who voted on a paper ballot intended to vote “Yes.” Her vote was excluded because the “X” didn’t appear in either the “Yes” or “No” boxes, Ginyard said.

    Election officials, however, said there’s evidence countering that statement.

    Commissioners noted the woman cast her ballot at the county election office using an electronic machine, meaning she couldn’t possibly have voted on a paper ballot.

    Stidham did confirm that another voter living outside the annexation area cast a ballot, but noted that wasn’t enough to order a new election.

    Stidham added that before the election, she sent a list of eligible voters to Ginyard for verification, but never received a response.

    “Going by the map I received with tax map numbers, I never got any feedback,” she said. “I assumed we had those registered voters correct.”

    Stidham also said the town never mentioned the voter who opted out.

    “The ‘opt out’ you keep mentioning, we had no knowledge of an ‘opt out,’” she testified. “We received nothing in my office to know there was an ‘opt out’ to even remove those voters.”

    Not mentioned during the hearing were reports that Ginyard was observed inside the polling location, beckoning voters to speak to him before they could register with poll workers and cast ballots.

    Stidham and Fairfield County Councilwoman Bertha Goins told The Voice they witnessed Ginyard calling out to voters. Stidham said she eventually asked Ginyard to allow voters to register.

    A state election commission spokesman previously said when public officials speak to voters before they register, it could be viewed as campaigning inside a polling location, a violation of state law.

    “That certainly would not look good and could be construed as campaigning, interfering, or intimidating voters,” said Chris Whitmire, spokesman with the S.C. Election Commission.

  • Voters reject Jenkinsville annexation

    Turnout was High: 34 of 54 registered voters

    JENKINSVILLE – Annexation appears to be off the table in Jenkinsville.

    The controversial measure, which would have annexed 143 properties into the town limits, failed by a 19-15 vote, according to unofficial results.

    There were 36 ballots cast, but two under-votes – one absentee and one in-person – were discounted, said Debby Stidham, the county’s director of voter registration and election.

    Certification of election results is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, June 8 at the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections office at 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro.

    Turnout was comparatively high, with 34 ballots counted out of 54 registered voters.

    Only registered voters living in the proposed annexation area were eligible to vote Tuesday. There will be no mandatory recount.

    Contested ballots, allegations of voter intimidation and even threats of legal ac tion emerged during the election process, according to observers.

    Jenkinsville Mayor Gregrey Ginyard, who supported the ballot question and was present at the polling location Tuesday, said in a brief interview Wednesday that he doesn’t anticipate filing any election protests.

    Ginyard also couldn’t say whether or not Jenkinsville Town Council would consider pursuing annexation in a future referendum.

    “The outcome of the election is the outcome of the election,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, the people spoke. It is what it is.”

    Others in attendance, however, said moments after election results were announced, Ginyard spoke openly about filing a protest and consulting a lawyer.

    “He was shocked, upset. He got loud,” said Fairfield County Councilwoman Bertha Goins, who was also present at the polling location and opposed annexation.

    “It was unbelievable. He said, ‘I’m going to protest, I’m going to call a lawyer.’ He was beside himself,” Goins added.

    The Voice was unable to ask Ginyard about Goins’ remarks because the call ended Wednesday before press time.

    Election controversies

    Unless a protest is filed, the 19 votes against annexation mean the measure dies. Stidham said according to state law, a majority of votes counted is required for a referendum measure to pass.

    In the case of the Jenkinsville vote, the magic number was 18, since 34 votes were counted, Stidham said.

    Tuesday’s election didn’t come without controversy. Several sources confirm at least one ineligible voter, who didn’t live in the proposed annexation area, cast a ballot. It’s unclear how that person voted.

    In addition, Ginyard spent most of the day at the polling location.

    At times, the mayor called voters over so he could speak with him before they could sign in with poll workers, Goins and Stidham said.

    State law prohibits public officials from campaigning inside a polling location, but the law does permit officials to have casual conversations. It’s unclear what Ginyard discussed with the voters.

    A state election official said Ginyard calling out to voters before registering would be questionable.

    “That certainly would not look good and could be construed as campaigning, interfering, or intimidating voters,” said Chris Whitmire, spokesman with the S.C. Election Commission.

    “In that case, the managers could ask him to stop that activity or leave the polling place,” Whitmire said.

    Stidham said she spoke to Ginyard about calling out to voters. She also said at least one voter telephoned her office to complain about the activity.

    “I just asked him to let people come into the precinct,” she said. “He was telling them if they could or could not vote.”

    Goins said she was angered by the mayor’s conversations with voters.

    “He was on the side and he would call them over to the area before they came in to vote,” she said. “It was not professional and it was not right.”

    There were also reports of Ginyard jokingly asking poll workers to count the ballots quickly.

    If the results are challenged, Goins said she’d file a counter-challenge.

    Contested ballots?

    Goins and Stidham both said Ginyard did verbally dispute a vote cast by a woman living outside of the proposed annexation area.

    Stidham said the woman’s name appeared on a voting list, but it shouldn’t have been there. She didn’t know how the woman was able to vote.

    Ginyard, observers say, claimed the woman voted against annexation because she sent him a letter stating that was her intention.

    Stidham said strictly looking at ballots, there’s no way to know how any person voted.

    There was no mistaking Ginyard’s reaction to the vote, with Stidham and Goins saying he was shocked. Stidham said Ginyard raised the issue about the woman’s address.

    “The mayor was standing there saying she shouldn’t be allowed to vote, but he didn’t challenge the ballot,” Stidham said.

    Stidham added that she doesn’t know whether any formal election protests will be filed. Any protests must be filed by noon Monday, June 11, she said.

    Goins said she was thankful the measure failed.

    “Thank God and thank the people,” she said. “I thank them for responding the way they did, for stepping up to the plate and did what needs to be done for the good of the community. It makes me very proud to be a representative in this area.”